Breonna Baker, M.A.Ed

First, God. My faith is in Christ, and I stand on those principles. The second would be my parents. They are an example of hardworking individuals that make intentional steps and desire to grow, and so I got those from them. And the third category would be my students, or those that I impact. I'll say it that way. Those that I impact, I am encouraged by them because I do desire to be a positive role model in people's lives where they can say, because I saw Ms. Baker or Brianna do that, or overcome that, I too have that strength to overcome and do it.

The best career advice I received was from my dad: start out like you can hold out. This really means going into the career field understanding that you don't want to put all your gas in the beginning, you want to make sure you're steady. Steady growth, steady engagement, and then steadily increasing as far as moving up the ladder. I can honestly say I have been steady. I have earned my bachelor's degree, a BK certification, a computer science certification, and I have received my master's as of 2024. And I am considering my doctorate, but as of right now, I'm just going to be steady, as my dad says. Start out like you can hold out.

To women entering education, I would say to them, number one, always remember self first. Pour into you first. That's my first point. Second point, always desire growth. Always excel to be better. Like, okay, if I had a struggle year with year one, what can I do to get better for year two? And then number three, understand that it's okay that it doesn't always go the way you plan. The lesson plan is really just a template. It's just a template. You gotta teach it to reach however you're gonna reach. It's just a template.

Some challenges that I have faced have been feeling that frustration of pushing people to success and being able to balance my goals with their goals. I will be very transparent. Even in the role of education, you know, you have your own personal goals, and what I have learned in this journey is, as an educator, I'm amplifying the goals, the visions, the mission of said organization I work for. But I, too, have personal goals that I want to achieve. And so, that has been a challenge, because there are moments where I may want to take a professional development, or I may just want to explore my other options. But again, being very loyal, I think I should have said that in your other question about values. I do value loyalty, but of course with balance, because you don't want to be loyal to the point where you lose self. As for opportunities in the field, when you think about K-12, definitely becoming an admin, like a principal, assistant principal, instructional technology coach. When you think about college, being a dean or a chair of a said department. For myself, I do desire to be a director of career, like, the career center or career services. That's actually a personal goal of mine, is to be the director of that.

I value intentionality and I value growth. I value intentionality because I want myself, as well as those who I work with and interact with, to make diligent and honestly calculated steps towards what they desire to do, really assessing. There's a scripture in the Bible that talks about counting up the costs before pursuing said project. And I do believe that we all need to take a moment and really think, what is it going to take for me to become a nurse? What is it going to take for me to become said career? And put those steps in place? And number two, growth. I value that because you always want to be in an area or a place where you can flourish. That's actually some of the principles I talk about on my YouTube channel, Faith, Flourish, Bloom. Really having faith in God, flourishing in all areas, and blooming into the person that God has called you to be. So, really taking those principles of intentionality and growth. I also value loyalty, but of course with balance, because you don't want to be loyal to the point where you lose self.